Comic Koubou Lets You Draw Manga Easily On Nintendo 3DS

There’s a new drawing application coming for Nintendo 3DS, called Comic Koubou. It’s currently headed to the Japanese Nintendo eShop for ￥800 on January 15, 2014.

This app will allow handheld owners to easily create their own manga panels, starting from a number of templates. Panels can be divided into a number of ways before getting worked on.

Moreover, there are tools available for speech bubbles, as well as the ability to put text in horizontal or vertical setting. There’s also a variety of brushes and pens available.

You’ll be able to work in multiple layers, with up to 5 different levels provided. For easy editing, it’s possible to copy and paste work, as well as undo and redo actions.

Any finished work can be saved in JPEG format and put onto the 3DS SD card. From there, you can upload it to the internet, by mailing it to yourself, for instance. We suggest doing that.

While this is an easy way to see what you’re creating, using the double screens of the handheld, there are some restrictions. For instance, the maximum size is only 896 x 896, which may be limited for bigger publications.

As Kotaku puts it, an eventual release on Nintendo Wii U, perhaps with equal upscale options, would definitely widen the audience of this app tremendously. On 3DS, however, it can still flourish, as the Colors! 3D app has done so before with similar tools.

Those looking for a western release for Comic Koubou may need to wait, as there is no information for it outside of Japan.